Let Me Bleed
by Prodigy Panda
Summary: "Find the Maiden of Spring. Use her blood to end the shadow war." Everyone's looking for her. The mission proved to be easy until the demon himself fell for the maiden. After searching for her so long, letting go was not an option. But, how do you stop the war she started? Love is blind. Love is real. Love isn't free. You'll understand that eventually. ON HIATUS!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto Manga series. This is my second fan fiction.

Building some background: The story takes place in modern Edo times in Konoha. Ninja, regular civilians, and supernatural beings such as gods, angel, devils, demons, nymphs, oracles, etc. are living in one world. In the modern Edo period compared to the story plot is different. Technology is being conducted to perform greater tasks. Ninjas remain the greatest weapon of the human race.

Some characters can be ninja and demon at the same time (e.x. the legendary sannins, Akatsuki, the Uzumaki clan, the Uchiha clan, and the Hyuugas). Others will stick with one roll.

* * *

Chapter One

* * *

Of demons and angels, gods and goddesses, the Konoha village harbored the most supernatural, god like creatures and not to mention humans. However these inhuman species lived within in the shadows everywhere they went. Humans were not to know of their existence and power they possess. It would be chaotic if such earthlings knew about the beasts and creatures that walked among them everywhere they went.

Gods and angels on the other hand were at war with these demons and beasts. It was as if the high Heavens have declared war on the Underworld. A shadow war. One that would last for at least a hundred years. War means sacrifice. To end this bloody war a maiden is needed to shed her own blood till she bleeds to death. Not just any maiden but the Maiden of Spring. The only and only that appears every five hundred human years.

Looking for a maiden who herself could be a pure angel, a beastly devil, or a weak human in this world is finding a needle in a hay stack. Even if the Maiden of Spring is found, the captors choose whether or not to sacrifice her to end the war or rob her of the rare power she unknowingly possesses.

But within the ongoing war the devil himself fell to a human girl. Both his soul and body. However, happy endings don't count for those who don't fight for it. Even if a fight is put up, a happy ending is not guaranteed. Everyone knows the devil can't keep the human. They don't want him too.

* * *

Soldiers ransacked village after village looking for _her. _"Where is she?" The voices grew impatient.

"Grab all the women and little girls! Who knows which one she could be? An old granny or a little girl?"

Villages burned, men were forced to join armies or better yet killed, and women were taken away by soldiers to the landlords. The lands remained in chaos. The war had spread to the humans. The shadows threatened the people if the Maiden of Spring was not sacrificed the humans will be pulled into the crisis. Higher officials and landlords had sent out armies and ninjas to retrieve the so called maiden. It's been a year for she has not been found. Everyone is looking for here.

The fields of earth have been transformed into battlefields. Humans versus demons and beasts, angels versus devils, the gods only stood to watch. As long as their power and position was not threatened they would make no move to stop the evil.

* * *

Far from the chaos up in the mountains near Konoha, a wooden hut hidden from view lived a pinkette. A blind little angel sweeter than peach. Even though she was blind and her vision was permanently impaired, nothing in the world stopped her from doing what she wanted. She built herself a home near a waterfall when she awoke in the mountains alone. She did not remember when, how or why she was there. She deemed her parents must have lost her. But she'd wait for them to find her. Year after year there was no sign of anyone looking for her. Eventually she came to the conclusion her parents were dead. She embraced that fact no less and continued to live.

It's been a few years now. The girl lived to be sixteen as the villagers of Konoha had told her when she traveled to the markets every week for food and necessities. The people did not know where she lived, who she really was, but they called her Sakura and welcomed her company whenever she was present. Her pink hair was abnormal and it held remembrance of cherry blossoms in the spring. The girl liked the name and then on she was known as Sakura.

Today was bitter than normal. The weather was chilly but never less Sakura headed for the village with a basket strapped to her back and her lovely white crane or walking stick as she called it. A wooden crafts man had especially designed one for the girl when he saw her handicapped, wearing a white cloth covering her eyes. The crane was a lovely gift. Sakura had given him medical herbs in trade even though the old man had asked for nothing in return.

The trails that led to the mountain bottom were rocky, unpaved, and bumpy. Sakura had gotten used to it after walking the same dangerous path every day. Nature was on her side. None of the mountain animals or beasts attacked her. She felt right in place.

Konoha was busy as usual. The villagers greeted her with hospitality and chatted with her like friends. Sakura has made many friends actually. Most of them were civilians and the others happed be ninjas who called themselves the "Rookie Nine" they included Sakura since she could be a medic ninja but chose not to. Although she picked up some defense skills and was trained surprisingly by the Hokage Tsunade one of the legendary sannins, the girl was against violence.

She could not murder with her own hands. Not humans, not animals because a mission had demanded her too. She was a healer. Her medical skills would soon surpass the Hokage.

"Lookie, lookie, Sakura-chan!" The voice belonged to the dango shop owner. Said girl turned facing the voice. The woman had realized her mistake. "I'm sorry, Sakura-chan. I mean come over here." The owner thought she had offended the girl because of her lack of sight. Sakura did not mind and smiled as she made her way effortlessly toward the sweet smelling shop.

"Chilly day, Mao-san. How are the dango selling?" Sakura spoke kindly as always.

Mao-san reached to give the girl a box of sweet dango.

"Everything's fine. Thank you for asking. Here's a treat. It's on me!" The lady let out a laugh and Sakura pouted. She always gave the girl free dango.

"Mao-san, I have some wild berries from the mountains I could give-"Sakura was cut off by the high spirited woman.

"Silly girl. I don't need anything in return! You're the one always giving so freely. Now go sit down at a table and enjoy. I'll get you some tea." Then she scurried off.

Sakura went in search of a table. She sat down at an empty seat in the corner and opened the box of warm, sweet dango. Mao came back as promised with sweet tea for the girl. "Stay as long as you wish. I got customer's waiting of there." Then she was off again.

Her fingers idly picked up the wooden stick stringed with dango and bit gently from the top. Mao's dango was best out of the whole village. Everyone knew that. More customers floated in and out. Then a team of ninjas filled the table in front of Sakura. They sounded weary and tired. 'One girl, three guys. They sound young. Maybe around twenty.' Sakura picked up their conversation.

The woman sounded upset.

"Can you believe what's going on in Sound? That place is corrupt. The landlord is dead and the place is a battlefield. "

"They're dealing with beasts and demons. It's no surprise if they fall to the shadows." One man retorted.

Another sighed. "I don't care unless Konoha will be in danger."

They let out a laugh. "Never! We have the strongest ninja forces. And demons." The group bickered away. Sakura continued to devour the dessert with very little interest.

She had heard of the shadow, the dark lands, the demons, and the war. The poverty that spread through villages and all the horrors that bestowed upon the people. Konoha itself was invaded with demons, only the good kind, but strong. The Uchiha clan was the best known clan in the village. They were immortal, powerful, lust hungry but they did not resent humans. Much. Tsunade let them stay rooted to Konoha for the village's safety and to borrow their power in case of any attack.

Sakura did not care for the clans, powers, ninjas, demons, and the war. She wanted peace. She'd help the injured if she saw one. She'd save as many lives as she can. The war had been raging for years since she's heard about it. Everyone was looking for the so-called Maiden of Spring.

'They just want a sacrifice, an excuse to end the war. The innocent are suffering because of the nonsense.' Sakura was just as upset at the activities the outside has created.

But the pinkette had never ventured elsewhere. She wanted to go somewhere…outside the walls…to help the suffering. She had enjoyed her cozy life in the mountains, but her guts were telling her she needed some adventure. 'Maybe I should travel outside…no I want to see what's out there…'

If she wanted to go on a mandatory leave she'd had to report to someone about her absence…

* * *

"Oi, teme! Do you think she's alive?" A blonde shouted over dead bodies.

The young Uchiha grunted at the smell of rotting bodies. "Dobe, the Maiden of Spring is not easily taken down."

"You make her sound like a force or something." The blonde scratched the back of his head.

The Uchiha replied, "She is the force of nature. The gods will not let her die. She is not weak either. She's out there somewhere." A dead female body was flipped over. Nope. Not her.

"What if we never find her? You could use your demon powers or something?" That loudmouth Naruto could never shut up. He had started ranting from Konoha to Sound. The rest of the team was weary and irritated. The blonde did not help the situation at all.

"Hn. _I'll _find her. We need her alive." The young Uchiha trotted through the dead bodies, mostly human from the present war.

Naruto poked at a corpse and ranted away. "What if she's caught in enemy territory?"

Sasuke sighed. "Baka, we'll save her then. Shut up and keep searching."

The land was on fire, smoke still clouded the skies, and nothing seemed alive at Sound anymore. Most of the women were captured by landlords or demons. It has been a year since the search, but not even her shadow was seen.

* * *

A soft knock was heard in the Hokage's quarters. "Come in." Tsunade sounded drunk. The door swung open to the blind girl. "Sakura? Haha…" The elder was definitely not sober. Sakura could hear a few sake bottles rolling around on the floor, courtesy of the blonde sensei.

"Tsunade-sama…I've come to inform you of a trip I'll be taking. I'll be gone for…a long time." Sakura did not waste any time. Midnight was a tick away. The darker the skies, the better it was for traveling, at least for Sakura it was.

The woman grinned childishly. "Sakuraaa…whyyy nowww? It's dangerous…outside. Stay…stayyy!" She even pouted, the alcohol was getting to her. How long was she sober to begin with?

Sakura smiled at her sensei.

"It's been awhile since…I've ever made a long trip outside. I'll be back…soon…one day. Do not send anyone with me. I'll be really upset if I find Leaf ninjas after me." Sakura did not come into the office while she spoke. She chose not to.

Tsunade tried to concentrate, but felt dizzy. "Take care, Tsunade-sama. The hospital should operate just fine with Shizune-san and cut off the drinking once in a while. The paperwork won't get done itself… I'll miss you." The door was closed silently leaving the elder woman to think. It almost sounded like farewell for good. 'She better not do something stupid…' Tsunade thought as passed out flat on her desk.

* * *

The skies outside were dark, very dark. Sakura couldn't feel much light when she jumped from roof to roof. Being blind was a disadvantage, but Sakura used her blindness to a certain limit. She had managed her way through basic ninja training after those years of strict training from Tsunade.

There wasn't much you could do with being blind, but sensei did not go easy. Having disadvantages on a ninja meant death. Relying on her other senses and instinct, Sakura was never caught off guard. Everything seemed dangerous when she couldn't see. Thinking about her sight would only put her depression. Was she born this way? Maybe…if her eyes were damaged, Tsunade couldn't find the problem.

Upon reaching the gates, Sakura checked her backpack. Assorted clothes, basic necessities, weapons, medical supplies, the walking stick, scrolls, and food were all packed. The backpack was pretty light even stuffed with necessities. She had spent a good time packing and taking care of her home. It'll be long before she will be back to visit the hut. Traps were set but none that could harm villagers or animals.

The pink haired medic had her gloves on, black ninja boots, and her ninja attire. Although she was not official a ninja, Ino had convinced her to always dress as one. She bid the guards good bye and took off. Sakura had never been outside the village boundaries. The area was different but she had been informed of the vast forest and woods meaning lots of trees and trails. After leaping from branch to branch, Sakura slowed down and jumped to the earth.

'I think I've traveled about a mile…thank god I had lots of rest.' Sakura fumbled with her thoughts. 'Where to go…Sound? I'll go to Sound! The Sound village is suffering the most.' Pulling out her crane, she studied the path she was taking. The woods were quiet at night. Only animals and nature surrounded her. The darkness did not scare the girl. It was…normal.

'Maybe I should teleport…but that will use much of my chakra…oh, I wish Ino was here to help me decide…' Trusting her guts, Sakura decided to teleport only to the outskirts of Sound only when she was close enough. Covering distance by foot seemed to be a better idea. 'Did I make the right choice leaving alone?'

* * *

"Lord Orochimaru, I've brought all the women the ninjas have captured in the village. Take a look?" A silver haired man adjusted his glasses as he spoke.

Sitting on a stone throne was one of the three legendary sannins, Orochimaru. The snake like beast scanned the captives that were brought in. The scared faces, the chains that held down the captives, the whimpers heard among the women brought a sadistic grin on his face. "Kabuto, have you tested them yet? I want the Maiden of Spring. You can do whatever you like to the rest." His voice was cold and raised fear in the captive's hearts.

They've heard of the wanted maiden but finding one out of thousands of females was impossible. If she did exist, they only prayed she'd show her face so they'd be spared of the horrors. But only a small group wished for the girl to never be found, better yet dead. Her life would be ruined if she landed in the hands of demons.

Kabuto readjusted his glasses again. "I will begin the experiments right away. We can start right now with the numbers we have. As long as one of these females has the tattoo of the Maiden of Spring has and their blood can heal a dead man, she is the one we're looking for."

The man on the throne hissed. "Do it quickly! My arms are aching to be healed."

* * *

Only miles away from the corrupt land, an underground base was shaking with thick tension. The Akatsuki members all stood in a symmetric circle. Most of them were irritated, wounded from a previous battle, others proved to be annoyed at the sudden meeting.

"Leader, what is it that you've called us here for?" It was the puppet master that spoke. He was the first to break the silence. All eyes went towards him and Leader.

"I want some answers. Has the maiden been found?" His commanding voice never flattered.

None of the members spoke for a solid minute. Of course, the topic was always on the Maiden of Spring these days. The one female that couldn't be found even with the whole world searching for her. The question was seemingly directed towards Itachi, Kisame, Sasori, and Deidara. The four was sent out to find the maiden two years ago. The rest stayed off to fend attackers of the organization.

"We know she is alive and we've heard of myths of exceptional medics from Konoha who've healed just like the sannin, Tsunade. Our trails lead to one girl in Konoha. She's the one who've healed the worse. Her name is Sakura. She's blind with pink hair, but her medic skills are not far from Tsunade at all. She's supposedly sixteen or seventeen this year. We think it might be her." This time it was the blonde clay artist who spoke. His description was brief but enough to paint the image.

"Find the girl before anyone else gets to her. I want her alive before me." With that said, Leader vanished from the meeting. The members left right after Leader.

* * *

'Today's the fifth day. I think I'm close to the border now.' Sakura calculated. After breaking through traps and fending off wild creatures for days, the medic had met some villagers of Sound from time to time.

The villagers had told her many were fleeing in her direction. They were trying to hide from the demons and ninjas who worked for the landlords. They had no idea where the Otokage was either. From her sources the refugees were headed for Sand, Rain, Rock, but mostly Konoha. It seemed like the Sound citizens were all over the place. But Konoha would accept them more than any other village.

Sakura made hand signs to teleport. If she calculated correctly, she was only a few miles from the border. The teleportation brought her in front of the broken gates of what use to be Sound. She smelled a pungent scent of the dead. 'Blood…?' There was still gray smoke than filled the air. The sound of fire burning on material was present. 'Is anyone alive…?' The girl felt sick to her stomach knowing the place was a slaughter house. There was no sign or sound of life. But, this had only been one part of Sound.

Sakura pulled out her walking stick that was covered in white cloth. 'Better get the cloth dirty than my stick.' Using the stick, Sakura tried to maneuver her way. Every step she walked the stick would hit something…something like a body. Her grasp on the stick tighten. She tried sensing if there was chakra anywhere near her. Either everyone was dead or someone was masking their chakra.

'I could spend months here stranded trying to look for people alive. There must be a faster way.' Sakura could not see the village, nor did she have a map she could read. Pushing chakra to her feet, she leaped from one broken building to the next. 'If I can get up higher maybe I can get something outta this.'

* * *

"Teme…where's all the ramen?!" Naruto whined.

Sasuke sighed the third time today. "You ate it all, dobe. Eat something else."

"Nothing tastes better than ramen…I wanna eat Sakura's homemade ramen right now." The blonde had missed Konoha badly. He had missed his friends…and Sakura's homemade ramen. It had a different, more home-like taste than Ichiraku's. But, she would only offered to make the ramen on his birthday…that's only once in a year. Good thing, she would make a big pot of it.

"Is there anything you could talk about other than ramen and girls?' Kiba, the dog lover muttered.

"You're just jealous you don't ever get to eat Sakura's ramen!" The boy stuck his tongue out at him.

"Baka! She makes me udon!" Kiba countered. He rolled over with Akamauru on the bed of grass.

Today had been another dreadful day of searching for that wanted girl.

"Now you're all taking about her…troublesome woman…" Shikamaru uttered as he watched the clouds.

"Dude, you literally hold a grudge over her for beating you at every board game you ever played. Can't believe you'd lose to a handicapped girl no less." Kiba snickered at the guy's hurt ego.

"She's blind?' Sasuke finally spoke up. Everyone turned heads toward him even the Hyuuga that was meditating silently from the team.

"Teme…where have you been this whole time?!" Naruto was baffled he didn't know her existence.

"Never mind, you never liked girl, you could be gay for all I know…" Ouch.

"Well he might be considering he had kissed Naruto when we were still training at the ninja academy." Kiba laughed with Akamaru. The horror memory was not easily forgotten.

"It was an accident!' The two boys said in sync. A tragic accident indeed.

Shikamaru turned to the Uchiha prodigy. "Sakura is the best medic of Konoha…maybe even better than Tsunade. She's blind, but her medic skills are better than you think. She's not an actually qualified ninja since she did not attend ninja academy or apply for any ninja tests. I'm not informed of her ninja skills. Tsunade has done a great job training her though."

Sasuke listened quietly with the rest. No one interrupted Shikamaru's speech as if all agreeing with him. The demon was surprised to hear of the medic as good as the Hokage or even better. Sasuke did not spend a lot of time investigating the girls of Konoha unless they were high leveled ninjas or proved to be a threat.

"You make her sound like…could she be the one were looking for?" Sasuke asked.

Kiba answered. "I don't think so…I mean, she needs to have that tattoo on her and it's supposed to cover half her body. We've never seen it. It can't be her." Sasuke let the topic drop for a while.

"I'm sensing three strong chakras in the northern part of Sound!" Neji alerted the group. "There's a familiar chakra but I can't point out who it belongs to."

The team packed up and took off in the direction of the dangerous energy. Enemy, foe, or…or her?

* * *

A/N: Hope you guys did not hate this one. The story line shouldn't be too confusing. I'm not sure if I want this to be a SasuSaku or ItaSaka…I'll just see how everything goes. I'll update at least twice a month…dunno…haha…I still gotta finish Sweet n' Sour Love.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Just this plot.

* * *

Chapter Two

* * *

To say the young Uchiha was shocked was an understatement. Only the Hyuuga and Nara were observant enough to notice those onyx eyes widen by a fraction at the sight of the battle.

Flashes of light pink and red clouds flashed here and there. The typical ninja would have a difficult time rendering one nin from another. Naruto was the first to scream out. "SAKURA-CHAN!" Of course, the blond was not the first to notice. The girl wasn't alone. The infamous Uchiha Itachi and his partner Kisame were attacking the blind girl.

"Wait. Don't attack yet." Shikamaru held the guys back before they leapt into action. They were dealing with missing-nin in the Bingo Book.

What was more surprising to the team of anbu was the fact that she held her fight unbelievably strong for such a petite girl without her vision. Her small body danced in the air and moved at incredible speed that could match an anbu member. Sasuke was even more enticed with the new girl. The damages due to their fight did not go unnoticed. If Sound wasn't destroyed completely, this part of the village was now.

Her long, pink tresses twirled in an elegant way and she moved swiftly in ninja gear. For a girl who's never been to the ninja academy, she could definitely pick her clothes. It wasn't just appearances; her combat skills were impressive to kill. But, he had snapped out of it when he made short eye contact with his aniki. The man he had once adored betrayed him and the village.

The team of trained anbu was ignored even after Naruto's call to his friend. Sakura focused on her opponents. Clearly they were not regular nin. Their speed, their jutsus, if skill was not impressive enough, their silence was making it even more difficult for Sakura. She could still feel her opponent's chakra, soon joined with other chakras. Naruto's voice was loud and clear for Sakura to confirm the newcomers were not enemies. She had to keep her head clear.

She did not anticipate an attack so soon until she had jumped up to high elevation for better sensing. Sakura was let in on a surprise attack when she had met with two dangerous men accidently when she had reached the top of a fallen tower. The skilled fighters have been attacking her since then.

'Good, but not good enough.' A gloved hand punched another crater on the dry ground. The two men retreated at an alarming rate.

Uchiha Itachi merely narrowed her eyes. Blinded by a white cloth and her pink locks, not once did the girl look into his eyes. He couldn't trap her in a genjutsu just yet. He could tell she was blind and all her attacks so far were simply taijutsu and ninja weapons. Her speed was fast, but it did not match up to the Uchiha's. The blind one had done a great job defending herself from two of the most dangerous men. She simply went into defense mode since the minute Kisame was the first to initiate an attack.

It was amusing to the man since it was his first encounter with a blind kunoichi. Especially one from his home village. Ex-village. Her chakra did not seem depleted or to waver at all. She didn't use much or any at all. 'Interesting.' He leapt from another broken crater to shelter. His foolish otouto was already here. There was no need to fight him now. "Kisame, retreat now. We already got what was demanded." His command was quiet enough for only his partner to hear.

"I want to take her back to Leader before I turn into sushi." The fish-face complained and leapt toward Itachi. Samehada sure wanted to taste her chakra. But the kitten had dodged all his strikes with his sword.

"No, we're leaving now." With that said the two teleported out of sight. Sakura stopped when she felted the two chakras disappear. They were gone just like that. One of the men had not attacked her at all; the other had swung toward her with a big weapon. Weird.

Seeing his aniki leave frustrated Sasuke. He was already difficult to track. If Nara did not stop him he would have jumped into the fight. He eyed the pinkette that stopped also; she seemed confused as the situation played. Naruto was the first to jump at her.

"Sakura-chan! Why are you here? And I didn't know you had ninja skills! I only thought you could heal only." Naruto kept rambling till a fist came down on him.

"Naruto!" Sakura hissed slightly. "Quiet!" She had felt only a tad tired from the run-and-play defense move she pulled on the previous nins. Her eyes had started to ache again. 'Forgot about it again.'

The younger Uchiha did not admit. He, too, was curious as to what kind of skills she possessed. The so called Sakura merely stood a good 5' 5", with a petite body, and a soft angelic voice. Her rosette hair stood out like a sore thumb; most surprisingly she seemed too good to be blind. He was already glad she didn't even latch onto him at all. Women always did that. _'Yeah, ones that could see our gorgeous looks.'_ Inner sneered.

"Who's with you, Naruto?" Sakura did not feel comfortable at the moment to be around unfamiliar people who have not introduced themselves to her.

"It's us." Sakura immediately recognized Shikamaru's lazy voice and Kiba, and Akamaru quiet chuckles that followed. She could sense Neji's chakra also. The other one remained a mystery.

"And the other one? I don't know him." Shikamaru was not surprised at the girl's discovery. 'Observant as usual.' He noted.

As always, the blonde was the first to acknowledge. "That's teme, Sakura-chan! You don't want to know him. He's a gay, stuck up bastard." He pouted in an upset manner. The Uchiha was already sending the dobe his infamous glare.

Sakura's face twisted in confusion. "Uchiha…Sasuke?" At her voice, Sasuke turned at her.

'Damn right she had better hear of us! We are the sexiest bachelor in the whole country!' Inner's ego was something to be wary alright. "Hn."

"I dunno him." Ouch. That stung. It only left the younger Uchiha to wince slightly at the comment. Naruto had broken down into snickers with Kiba already.

"HAHAHA! Teme! She doesn't know you! Beat it!" He toppled onto the ground with laughter and giggles. Oh, she'll get to know him alright.

Sasuke growled. Sure it had hurt his pride, a female from his home village did not know of him at all. But, he didn't need all the females to know him. Good looks were a curse. "That's just because we haven't met yet." He sneered.

"Ah, Uchiha-san. Nice to meet you. As you may have heard, I'm Sakura." She smiled toward the direction of his voice.

"Aa." Not exactly the warmest greeting, but the girl smiled anyway.

'She didn't tell me her full name…' The ego the younger Uchiha had carried within did not want to initiate the conversation, too proud to be asking a girl for her full name. He let the subject drop.

Shikamaru on the other hand seemed to be irritated at the predicament. Sakura's out here for Kami knows why. Akatsuki members have been spotted. The Maiden of Spring still hasn't been found. This was going to be another troublesome report he'd have to write. He let out another sigh. "Sakura…does the Hokage know you're out here…alone?"

Naruto had stopped his contagious laugh and wiped away his laughter tears. "Y-yea, Sakura-chan, are you on some kind of mission?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes. 'Sakura-chan again.

How long have they known each other…Wait, why should I care?'

'_Your ego is jealous Naruto knows a girl longer than you.'_ Inner was agreeable.

Sakura turned to the group, cladded in ninja gear she tugged at the bottom of her skirt. "I'm just taking a trip. Tsunade-sama gave me permission." Lie. But it won't hurt, not much at least.

Kiba sniffed the air. "In the middle of war? You couldn't have picked a better time." Sakura only smirked at the comment. No, it was a perfect time for a trip out.

Shikamaru grew wary of the answer. The girl was smarter than to think it was a great time for a walk in the park. "To where?"

"Shika, that is for me to know and you to wonder about." The answer only made the team more curious. Of course, she didn't come out to just save people. There was a special herb in the Land of Water she needed for curing her eyes and the never disappearing pain. She would go there now seeing there was nothing left in Sound to save.

"Sakura-chan, do you want to come with us? It's dangerous out here!" Naruto was worried for his friend. Sure, she had just invaded a fight with Akatsuki, but she couldn't avoid every fight that presented itself before her. "You know I'm worried for you."

A small smile made its way to the girl's face. "I'll decline. I still have business to take of someplace else."

Neji, who had remained quiet for time being, spoke up. "Sakura, if anything, you can be our medic." His eyes looked hopeful.

Sasuke was surprised again. Now the all-mighty Hyuuga was trying to get her to stay also. What was so special about her? Sure, their team could use a medic anytime, but it didn't have to be her. They didn't need someone weak, especially a girl. They were on a mission for the Maiden of Spring, not in search of a medic.

Sakura beamed another one of her small smiles. "It's fine, Neji. I dun wanna be a hindrance to you all. I must go now if I want to get there in time."

Naruto cocked his head to the side. "Where are you going, Sakura-chan?"

"Hm, I was thinking the Land of Water." Sakura wanted to explore a lot of different places since she had the chance to be outside of the village. She'd get that special herb anyway.

Shikamaru was indeed curious now. "What business do you have there?"

"Ah, Shika, what's with the interrogation now?" Sakura was not use to having people question her about her personal info, trips, and all that that'd make her uncomfortable.

Shikamaru just scratched the back of his head in a last motion. "We just don't want anything to happen to you."

Another smirk formed on her lips. "Since when did you care so much?" Her tone was playful and sarcastic. If she could, she would roll her eyes at him, but he wouldn't be able to see.

The lazy genius only grunted back. "Since the day I met a blind girl who beat me in every board game. Dun want anything to happen to you, Saks. You know how hard it is for me to find a challenging opponent."

Sasuke's ears perked up. Not only was she a good medic, blind, cheeky, amazing appearance, etc. She was the better one at board games compared to the lazy Nara. Just how good is she?

"Anyway, it was a surprise to reunite with you all after so many months…maybe even a year or two. I'll be on my way now." Sakura was quick to dismiss herself. She picked up her fallen crane from the previous fight and inspected for any scars or chips.

The lousy blonde did not want to be the first to submit. Since the mission, it was hard to find time to spend with any of his friends back home. "Demo, Sakura-chan…we just saw each other…"

'Naruto…' Sakura walked forward to Naruto lifting her arms up in a hugging gesture. Naruto beamed at her hug. "We'll see each other next time, ok? I promise to make you my infamous ramen specialty."

Naruto let go and gave her a thumbs up, even though she couldn't see, but knew he did so. "You promised!"

"Hm." Sakura turned to walk away.

"Sakura." Shikamaru wanted to warn her. "Be careful. Those guys you were fighting are in the Bingo Book. They're dangerous."

"Ay." She waved.

The group said their goodbyes and Sakura used a bit of her chakra to teleport outside of Sound's broken main entrance. She had another place to be at the moment. Home would be a long way back.

* * *

"Think she'll be okay alone?" Kiba was the first to speak after his friend disappeared into cherry blossom petals. "I mean, she's probably never been anywhere outside Konoha."

Naruto was the first to break his thoughts. "Shit! I forgot to tell her not to go to take the main path to Water. It's blocked with debris and dead bodies!" The dobe was seriously on the verge of chasing after her.

Shikamaru shook his head. "Sakura's smart enough to protect herself. She'll probably take a different path." At least he hoped she'd be ok. Akatsuki was not fun business.

Sasuke, himself, was feeling a little worried for the girl too. Having Sakura get hurt did not sound a tad pleasing to him. 'Let's hope the annoying girl is alive the next time I see her.'

Neji eyed his team. "We still have a mission to complete."

Kiba and Naruto groaned. "It'll take forever to find a single woman. It's like searching for a needle in a haystack."

* * *

Itachi and Kisame reached their main base within three days of non-stop traveling. They had to report their findings to Leader. The gate pushed open with chakra. The other members were not present at the moment. Most of the pairs had the same mission. Other than looking for the damned Maiden of Spring, they needed to keep the income flowing.

"Leader." Itachi called out. They stopped a good distance before the stone throne. They had his attention now. Konan stood rooted next to the throne. Her face was just as emotionless as Leader.

Kisame took this as a cue to start talking. "We found the missing scroll from Sound's headquarters with no problem." Pein narrowed his eyes. There was more from what he heard.

Itachi sensed Leader's silent wish to hear what actually mattered more. "We found her." It was enough to make Pein bat an eye.

"Retrieve her and inform the others." The chill in his voice never disappeared. It was a do or die command.

The duo only nodded and teleported out to their headquarters. It was an amusing day.

* * *

A/N: Sorry guys, late update. But, hey, it's summer vacation for moi. I can write more, eh?


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